Staff Profile:
Ricardo Torres

Ricardo Torres has unearthed what he calls “the fountain of youth”—the University and its people. “I look in the mirror and I see myself getting older, but my inside spirit is still young.”

The educational opportunity program coordinator has worked for the University since 1975, when he started a job with the CSUS Foundation, now University Enterprises, Inc. In 1978 he joined the educational opportunity program office. “The University lists my anniversary as 25 years, but it is actually nearly 30. It’s even more than that if you count when I was a student, too” he says.

Torres’ student career began in 1969 when he transferred to the University as an undergraduate. “I remember when the fees were $75 per semester,” he says. He received his degree in ethnic studies and minored in journalism. He then obtained his social science teaching credential and returned to campus for a master’s degree in education. He also earned a bilingual/cross-cultural specialist teaching credential.

“The campus has really grown,” he says. “It’s grown up and out.” He says the surrounding neighborhood also looks much different in 2004 than it did in 1969. “I remember when the school was surrounded by hop fields and pear orchards. There’s so much more development and a lot of houses.”

As much as he likes working for Sacramento State today, he says the most amazing times on campus were in the early 1970s. Torres was active in various human rights issues. “There was still a lot of concern for civil rights, farm workers, free speech, and anti-war,” he says. He recalls how much he valued traveling around Northern California for protests and demonstrations at Alcatraz, San Francisco State, and People’s Park in Berkeley.

Torres says the methods EOP uses to contact students have changed. Computers alter the way staff connects with people. “Technology has enhanced the communication process. It saves money. We don’t have to mail information. We put the students on e-mail distribution lists.”

Technology not withstanding, Torres likes the direction the campus is taking. “We’re creating a culture for the University, building a community, getting an identity.” He says that he’s especially impressed by the energy brought by the new President and new faculty. “They bring with them fresh and creative ideas. They bring a lot of new energy, making a big difference. They’re a positive change to the University. The whole transition is good.”